Been awhile since we've had a cooking thread, LOL...

[ICLori]

I thought maybe it would be time to revive the cooking thread so we could all talk about the great BBQ and grilling that we can do during the summer, or talk about our fresh tomatoes and what not that come from our gardens, and how good the salads taste.

For me, since I've been feeling better this past week, I decided it was time to whip up some Middle Eastern type food.

I grew to really like the hummus, baba ganoush, tahina sauce (tartour) and fresh pita bread when I was stationed in Egypt. When I came back to the U.S., I was mostly disappointed by the rather stale (compared to the fresh stuff in Egypt) pita bread in packets and hummus in containers. That stuff was okay, but it wasn't great, like I remember it being in Egypt. There's just something about freshly made that tastes better to me, you know?

Anyway, you can get great middle eastern food in nice restaurants, but unless you have one of those restaurants near you, the stuff you get in supermarkets isn't (IMO) quite as good as the freshly made.

Soooo...I decided it was time to do something about that!

So today I got a seasoned leg of lamb (just one pound, for hubby and me) and the ingredients to make Tartour, hummus and baba ganoush. I've been cooking all day, and the dough for homemade pitas is rising as I type this. Also, I have ingredients for the cucumber and yogurt salad that I grew to love over there. Today we will feast! Actually, there's enough stuff that I think we will feast for a couple of days, LOL, but that's okay.

Anyone else here like Middle Eastern food sometimes? Or another "exotic" unusual type of food that you don't see every day?

Blessings,
Lori
P.S. I also tried to make falafel patties, but they fell apart on me - another recipe (different from the one I used) said to stir in beaten eggs - think I will do that next time as I'm sure they will hold together better than they did this time...

[dg2901]

Lori,

I'm on my way. I should be there by the time dinner is ready to be served. That way you wont have to worry about putting away the leftovers. I'll even do dishes once I've finished feasting.

i'm glad someone got the cooking thread restarted! I had been thinking about it for the past couple of weeks though never got the gumption (<--is that a real word, by the way?) to post. It was nice to share what was going on in our kitchens--if nothing else it took our minds off discussing the bladder! :)

I havent made anything quite as exotic as youre lovely Egyptian meal, unless you count salsa as being exotic..haha..

With any luck this thread will catch on once again and we'll be able to take a peek into the lives of others and their kitchens..:)

Happy grilling, steaming, frying, bbq'ing, etc..
:)
D

[SharonA]

The last few days, I have been experimenting with Splenda and Splenda Brown Sugar Blend. I am always on the hunt for sweets with fewer calories (those Elavil cravings can get the best of you :rolleyes: ). Because I can handle apples and strawberries in small quanities, I have found a great recipe for Fruit Dip made with brown sugar. I just substitute the Brown Blend for the real stuff. I also use Lite or Fat-free Cream Cheese. I added a bit more milk to the basic dip and ended up with a great sauce for fruit, pie or cake. Yummy!!!!!

I have also been working on a good Brownie recipe using Splenda. Not there yet, but I am bound and determined to make it happen. Yes, I can eat chocolate. :woohoo:

Lori...I'm on my way, also. I'll help D with the dishes.

[traceann]

Are there any leftovers yet??? YUM-O!!!

I have to say that this summer so far I haven't really done any cooking, lol. Been to warm most days, and the others I'd rather be outside so we've become fixutres at our local favorite restaurant, lol. Fall is when my cooking bug comes back. ;)

I'm with you Lori, where I live (boondocks, lol) if you don't make it yourself, you aren't going to have it. I can't even find half the ingredients to make anything and am constantly bugging my mom-in-law to bring x, y and z when they come up to visit from the Detroit-area.

I have finally perfected my tzaziki sauce (the greek version of cuke and yogurt sauce), spanikopita and lemon-rice soup. Oh yeah, and hubby and I have come up with our own version of gyro meat. Lamb's hard to get up here and expensive, so we use beef and we messed around with a recipe Alton Brown had for gyro meat he'd done on a rotisserie. We make a "meatloaf" kind of thing, and bake it, then slice thin, pop in pita with the tzaziki and voile` !!Figured I should at least be able to make a few of my Greek heritage dishes and make them well. It was like a challenge to myself. As for the German in me, I have finally nailed Sauerbraten (hubby lives for the stuff, lol). So that was a fun way to play with my food and challenge myself in the process, to come up with dishes native to my heritages, and get them down-pat! Fun stuff!!!

I also decided last year to start trying the recipes that have intimidated me. Like we did a lot of canning last year for my first time ever. Actually looking forward to it this year! lol And I have become an old pro at homemade angelfood cakes! (well, as most of you know - right D? - that my Kitchenaid mixer I got last year certainly helped my cause, lol) Now to try with Splenda like you Sharon! I use the regular Splenda now just for my teas etc. But want to try baking with it, since you supposedly can, lol. I've had some zuccini bread made with the Splenda Brown Sugar, and it was fabulous. So, let me know what you come up with baking-wise, as I am eager to try too!! I have a fabulous one-bowl brownie recipe I might like to try it in....

I love summer, but am really looking forward to fall to get cooking again!!!!

[ICLori]

Wow, canning and using a real mixer! I'm impressed! I've never canned (I should learn how, I know I should) and all I have is a $20 hand mixer. (I never bake any cakes...hubby and I like pies better, but to be honest, I don't even make those from scratch very often, they are too much work, LOL...)

That gyro sounds really yummy! They don't have a good gyro place around here at all. They have one place, but instead of giving you good meat, they give you the burned dried out stuff on the outside (yuck) which is so disappointing. I miss eating good gyros!

It is awfully hard getting lamb these days. I love a good kefta, that's almost as good as a gyro, but it's hard getting the lamb, and then you have to mince it and mix with the herbs etc.

That's one thing that I miss about D.C., you could get some good ethnic food there (except for some reason, no good Mexican food - the Mexican restaurants there are only so-so....)

Blessings,
Lori
P.S. Yup, I have TONS of baba ganoush leftover, LOL...eek! Really I made too much for the two of us, but you can't exactly buy only 1/3 of an eggplant, LOL....

[dg2901]

Tracey--hows the Kitchen-Aid? Still running? You havent burned the motor up yet? I've got my mind set on some of that good cookie dough (well i'm assuming its good since I never got to taste it) you make this holiday season. I'm going to go ahead and speak to my mailman since we believe he was the reason I never received any last year that you supposedly mailed my way..:)

I havent cooked recently either; good thing everyone in my house knows how to fend for themselves..:).
Speaking of exotic, the husband and I went to dinner last night and while he wouldnt have anything to do with them, I enjoyed myself some frog legs! To go along with them I had some soft shelled crabs, calamari, crawfish, and heads-on shrimp! Yum! Yum! :)

Bon appetite!
D

[ICLori]

Frog legs and seafood! Boy now that's something I don't see any of here in Ohio! (Okay, there's some frozen seafood here and there, but...sigh...not the same!)

I made spanokopita (did I spell that right?) for the first time today. Have NO idea if it will turn out right or not. It's baking as I type this. It smells good so far though. I used fresh oregano and parsley and rosemary from my herb garden....

I'll let you guys know if it turned out to be edible or not, LOL...might just be one of those "let's order a pizza instead" nights, LOL!

Blessings,
Lori
Edited to add: Two thumbs up, Spanokopita turned out great! Hubby loved it, had seconds!

[traceann]

Hey how did the spanikopita turn out?? I either make it that way or the triangles for finger foods. I found a couple recipes, combined them and then created my own out of them going by how it should smell and taste (like what you get in the restaurants). Then I have hubby as "official taste tester" lol.

Hubby decided last year that we needed to try canning...lol. So, since it was something I have always wanted to try, we gave it a go, it was fun! But it did get a bit tiresome when you HAVE to keep going to finish whatever ingredient you are working with, lol. Hubby decided he wanted homemade tomato soup, canned. Great recipe, but so much work for 4 qts!!! I will NEVER make it again, lol. Campbell's here we come!! And not to mention the disaster I had whilst holding the bowl that contained the thickener (butter and flour) and gradually stirring it in - the bowl slipped out of my hand and into the hot boiling soup. I burned my arm and my hand and was banned from the kitchen. I had tomato soup EVERYWHERE! On the walls, the floor, lol....Hubby said - "just go sit down".

Oh yes, the mixer is doing juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuust fine D!! LOL I think we will have to report your mailman for tampering with mail, he had to have eaten it!!! A

All, I used to have was a hand mixer myself. Been wanting a Kitchenaid forever and a day, but never could afford. My inlaws got it for me last year for Christmas! I was soooo excited! It sure does make life easier, being able to get it going and then walk away to something else etc. Ahhhhh....nice!

[traceann]

Couldn't resist, had to dig these out! My tomato soup massacre.... lol

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/ethereal_24/th_Sept302002.jpg (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/ethereal_24/Sept302002.jpg)

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/ethereal_24/th_Sept302004.jpg (http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a354/ethereal_24/Sept302004.jpg)

[ICLori]

Hi, Tracey, hubby thought it turned out great, but I discovered that I'm not really fond of either feta cheese (I already knew that, but hoped that in a mixture, I wouldn't taste it so much) and also that I'm not that fond of oregano when mixed with spinach, LOL. The first few bites tasted good, but then I started to taste too much oregano and feta cheese. My husband had two huge helpings, though, he really loved it. So I count it as a success, because he loved it.

Wow, you know I did almost the same thing with tomato soup? I tried to make homemade tomato soup and I can't remember now exactly what I did - I think the top to the mixer came off - but there was tomato slurry EVERYWHERE in the kitchen. What a mess! And after all the effort and mess, turns out we both liked the taste of Campbells tomato soup better. So I said - no more trying to make tomato soup from scratch!

I think that's so cool that you have a stand mixer. In my mind, when a person has a stand mixer, they really are on top of things household-wise. I always envision those people as being great at making wonderful dinners and beautiful desserts and lovely loaves of bread...I think when I think of stand mixers I see a cross between Betty Crocker and Wonder Woman, LOL...I hope someday to own a stand mixer! It's on my list of "someday" things. I've heard those mixers are more powerful than hand mixers, too, that you can make bread and everything?

Blessings,
Lori

[traceann]

Oh yeah, you can mix all sorts of things and the attachments you get get - holy moly. I am in awe! There's a port on the front that you attach to - you can get pasta rollers, sausage stuffers, meat grinding attachments and now they have an ice cream maker attachment!! LMAO!!!!! :) I have wanted one for years, but the cost was never something I'd have extra money for at all, I actually got teary-eyed when I opened my present! LOL Wow, now I can't let my hubby see your post, or I'll be harrassed for not making all sorts of dinners etc, lol.

I will have to share my recipe with you. It's really simple and tastes like most you get in the Greek restaurants. Took me quite a few trys to get it there, lol. But I cook the filling FIRST. I get the onions softened first, then add the spinach, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and nutmeg. Then I add the feta and let it go for a bit so that it kind of melts, then when you put it in as a filling it melts more and becomes really really mellow. My hubby was not a big feta fan at all, as "raw" it's a bit of an aquired taste, lol, since it's pungent and salty - but melted it's totally different.

Oh shoot better get back to work - just home on lunch break, lol. ;)

Hugs!

[poetgirl]

I have a stand mixer and hardly ever use it! :(

I also enjoy cooking -- when I have the time, energy and am not catering to an 8 year old's diet! We grew a ton of tomatoes and basil in our garden this summer, which meant I made a lot of tomato sauce and pesto. I grill a lot since we have weather generally mild enough to do that pretty much year-round. I like to grill fish and also veggie and shrimp kebabs.

My new thing is fish tacos. I either pan-fry or grill strips of tilapia with a Creole spice mixture (I can tolerate spices) and we roll them into soft taco shells with slaw mixture (just the cabbage -- no dressing), sour cream, tomatoes and jalapenos (yep, I can tolerate those too although sometimes the pickled ones cause some minor urethral burning from the vinegar.) They are soooo yummy and very easy to make. I have to figure out how to make tartar sauce from scratch. The store brands are always too sweet for our liking.

One thing about being a vegetarian is that I do miss making some of my favorite winter-time comfort foods -- meatballs, Shepherd's Pie and beef stew. There are some veggie "ground beef" brands out there but none of them really taste all that good. However, one of my friends mentioned that she makes Shepherd's Pie using veggie ground beef and said it comes out good (maybe because you have to simmer it in a sauce) so I might try that.

[traceann]

In my haste to get back to work yesterday, lol, I forgot to say I am glad that I am not the only one who thinks homemade tomato soup is more trouble than it's worth!! LOL And dangerous too, judging by both of our experiences, definitely not good for our health!!! :)

Ok, this is funny, my husband's side gig and hobby is fishing (Lake Huron charters for salmon, Lake Trout, brown trout etc) and neither one of us eats fish. I won't touch the stuff, lol. Except for beer-battered cod, lmao. And then I really only eat it for the batter!! :) But - seafood? YUM-O! I love shrimp, lobster and scallops. Not a big crab fan, not sure why, just not for me. (Like avocados, I have given them a few trys to be fair to them after my initial - "not for me" statement, but still can't get myself to like them, lol)

I plan on making up some herb butters today when I get home from work and freeze them - while all my herbs are at their peak, and the stand mixer makes QUICK work of that, lol. Waiting for a little bit cooler weather to get baking. I did some oven fries last night, and about sweated away to a nothing. I am glad I decided to kill two birds with one stone and roast a head of garlic I was planning on doing today, at least it's done!!!

[Kara Isabel]

LOL!!!!!!!! Thanks for the giggle first thing in the morning Traceann! THAT SOOOOO looks like something I would do! ha! (seriously)

The middle eastern feast sounds DIVINE!

AHHH.....has anyone tried tabouli??? I love that stuff! I suppose I could make some of that and just leave out the diced tomatos :hmm: Has anyone attempted it and survived?

PS....those tomato explosions are such a pain in the rear to clean up, ehh?

lol

Kara :)

[ICLori]

Herb butters - wow, that's fancy! See, I KNEW that people with stand mixers made better meals than me, LOL! :) I love to fish, too, but don't like eating it (except like you, battered cod is good, and shrimp etc. I love lobster but who can afford it?)

One year I decided to make a really special homemade dinner for Valentine's Day for us, and I bought two big lobsters (live) from the commissary. Food is about 1/3 cheaper on average there than in a civilian grocery store, which is one of the benefits you get being military, but even so, I felt sooo extravagant buying those lobsters!

And of course I was scared to death of them since they were live, and I had the hardest time throwing them into the boiling water. I would have killed them more compassionately if only I had known how, but I didn't, so I just did what the cookbook said to do, and...well, anyway, it was kind of an awful experience because I was terrified of the live lobsters, and Dave said he didn't even especially like lobster (his favorite meal is spaghetti and meatballs, honestly) and I thought, okay, never again.

Kara, I'm thinking that maybe you could substitute diced cucumber for the tomatoes .... I mean, it wouldn't taste exactly the same of course but it would replace the moist part of the salad with something else moist and fresh tasting....I think that it might taste okay like that...and as far as I know, cucumbers are okay for IC, aren't they? I haven't looked at the list in so long, I could be wrong.

Tonight I'm making a relatively easy, down-home type meal - bbqed babyback ribs (I just put them in one of those big oven bags and pour some bbq sauce over them and cook them for about an hour until the meat is falling off the bones) and mashed potatoes (with cream cheese, butter and half and half, very rich so I only have a few bites of the potatoes, LOL) and fresh corn-on-the-cob (it's that time of year!) and homemade buttermilk biscuits. I think of this kind of a meal as being sort of "comfort food." Of course I'm doing better these days bladder-wise because of CyA, that's why I can do the bbq sauce with no problems, even though it's tomato-based.

Good eating to all! :) And many happy meals to all for decades to come!

The most important ingredient in all that we cook - our love! :)

Blessings,
Lori

[Kara Isabel]

You were reading my mind, Lori! When I wrote that I thought to myself, "cucumbers sure would taste good with Tabouli" LOL I MUST try this! I do make a cold cucumber soup in the summer months that is really quite good and simple I just puree cucumbers with basil and celery and some vegetable broth and let it sit in the fridge for about 24 hours and serve it cold with cold diced cucumbers on top! I know it probably sounds weird, but it is actually very good. Especially on a hot day when the heat kills your appetite! (We've had alot of those days here lately!)

RIBS: OMG, do you want to know a secret for the best tasting ribs EVER? My dh grilled some ribs a few months ago and I was like "WOW these are SOO good what did you do to them?" Well, he just said he marinated them blah blah blah....so I tell him to make them again last weekend because we were having friends over and his ribs are outta this world (I'm from Texas and consider myself an expert on barbecue) SO I'm watching him in the kitchen and he uses PANCAKE SYRUP in his barbecue sauce and I was like AHA! The pancake syrup helps the sauce to stay ON the ribs and it actually makes them SO tender and juicy! WHY didnt' *I* think of that? lol So anyhow...I just wanted to share this amazing addition to rib sauce.

Tonight, I think I am going to make Chicken Cordon Blue. I have a shortcut way where I just cook the chicken and then just put the ham and swiss on top of it and melt it. My family LOVES this meal.....but I'm actually craving a Reuben right now. Go figure.

hugs,
Kara

[ICLori]

Oh, thank you for this tip, I'm going to try it tonight! I have some real maples syrup, so what I'll do is coat the ribs with a thin coating of that syrup (don't want to add too much, want to experiment with a small amount first) then the regular BBQ sauce on top. I'll let you guys know how it turns out!

Blessings,
Lori

[traceann]

Yeesh, I finally am able to play again!! LOL Been a busy past couple of days, every time I said I was going to check out the boards, some catastrophe befell that only *I* could take care of um, yeah right, lol.

Anywho, the herb butters are soooo easy, lol. I used to keep them around all the time, but then got lazy, lol. I made some straight garlic butter for whatever, garlic breads etc and garlic-thyme butter for whatever, lol. If I have them, I come up with ways to eat them. I like using a pat to top a good steak, lol. And bread, and....oh heck, I just like butter!!! :) Wanted to make some chili butter, but forgot to take some extra out of the freezer. (If anyone saw my upright freezer, they'd laugh, there's usually 10 lbs of butter in there at any given time - everytime it goes on sale, I stock up and it freezes wonderfully!)

Oh there's no way I could have done the lobster thing. I refused to go to a friends lobster boil one year until AFTER the cooking process - I still don't see why they can't keep them like they do fish - I mean, heck, they aren't flopping about at the fish counter! (After all it's not Iron Chef!) LOL Love lobster though. Last time I cooked it at home (at least 6 yrs ago, lol) I had gotten frozen shelled tails, ah so easy and nice. Lori, I tip my hat to you, that was a huge thing to do - very brave. Butters schmutters - you did LIVE lobster!!!!!:bow:

Kara, lol, yeah, don't mess with the tomato soup - it's dangerous, lol. And yeah, unfortunately I am a clutz. LOL I'll admit it. The stupidest things happen to me, and I prefer to think they *happen* to me and I did nothing to cause it, lol. I am glad it made ya laugh, I knew I saved the pics of the carnage for a reason!!! But hubby telling me to just "go sit down", was even funnier. He was a sport about the whole thing, even cleaned up the mess for me. Well, then again I was sitting in the dining room with an icepack on my arm/hand, lol. :bonk:

And I think cukes in it would work just fine! Heck you might create something you like even better than the original!! And thanks for the rib tip!! (no pun intended, lol) I learned a great secret a couple weeks ago when my mom brought home some that needed to just be "finished" (sauced etc). She's a bartender for our local Eagles club and they had a rib dinner. Well, I guess they got the recipe from an old guy from the VFW, lol. Now, I have no problems with sauce either or limited amounts of orange juice (mostly the stuff just gives me heartburn now a days). You marinate your slab overnight in OJ, then the next day you pull them out, cover them in brown sugar, wrap them in foil (supposed to wrap them in Saran Wrap first, as it's the only brand that won't melt - but I am not so sure on that step, lol) and bake them til done. Then you slap them on a grill to do your saucing. Oh my, they were fantastic! Hubby swore they were the best he'd ever had. I want to now combine the maple syrup technique into it too!!! WOO HOO!!! I'll be Queen of the Ribs, lmao - yeah, sure....LOL

I have got to tell you guys the funniest latest cooking/kitchen disaster - just this past Wednesday. Ok, I have no troubles with chili powder etc. So, I make these chicken breasts that I just coat the heck out of with the stuff, then pan fry them quickly. I also made a new and super simple Spanish Rice recipe out of Taste of Home's Simple and Delicious mag. And to even be more current, I whipped up a pineapple salsa. (I'd never had the stuff before and I found that recipe in Simple and Delicious too - EASY) Well, I get my plate fixed - take a bite. CRUNCH. "huh?" Another bite GRIT. 'what the..." Well, it was only the chicken and the rice that had this chewing-on-sand quality to it. And the only common denominator was the chili powder. So, I went and tasted it straight - yep - that was the culprit! It was gritty and definitely like chewing on sand! And even the next day, it never improved! What a way to ruin perfectly good food. I was so bummed. I promptly threw the stuff away. That's what I get for buying a bargain brand of it. So much for saving money, lol. It was so bad, I got through not even half of my food and I had to pitch it. Ugh. Lesson learned!!! :rant: :bonk: :rant:

Yesterday I stuck to a no-fail : roast in a crockpot, lmao!!!!!

[SharonA]

Okay Lori and Tracey...It's time for a "cook-off" and I volunteer my house for the event. :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: Oh...Did I mention that I have Double Wall Ovens? The top one is Trivection, the bottom is Convection. Double the pleasure in half the time. Also have a Sunbeam MixMaster Stand Mixer, dough hooks and all. Am I tempting you, yet?

I so wish I could eat all these great foods that you are talking about, but my stomach will not let me. :tsk: I would have such gas afterwards. BURP!!!! :D (Except for the Shell Fish...Bring on the Lobster, Shrimp and Crabs!!!!) Don't even get me started on what garlic does to me. :shake: My hubby would love it, though. Especially the chili powder...not the gritty kind!!! :lmao: For him, the hotter, the better. :woohoo: And all that garlic...he would be in food heaven. :lmao:

[poetgirl]

I've been going through 4 years' worth of issues of Cooking Light to pull together recipes I have tried and liked or others I haven't gotten around to yet. Being a vegetarian, there are many that I cannot use, but have found some good ones to try, especially with fish and shellfish, which I do eat from time to time.

Now that I'm pregnant, I don't know how much extra cooking I'm going to be doing until the morning (all-day) sickness passes. It hasn't been too awful the past couple of days, but sometimes even looking at or thinking about food makes me feel queasy. I mainly eat to keep the gnawing hunger and nausea at bay.

I love making sauce, one of my early Fall favorite activities. I do have a bumper crop of tomatoes that needs to be made into a sauce soon. I'm going to avoid making tomato soup, however! It sounds dangerous! :lmao: Fortunately, the Little Me has been craving pasta and sauce a lot! :)

[ICLori]

Wow, Sharon, what a terrific kitchen! :)

Hi, Poetgirl, you know, I really love middle eastern (from Moroccan to Persian) cuisine, and it seems like there are a great many recipes that are vegetarian...do you enjoy cooking those kinds of foods sometimes? Just an idea for more recipes to try in case you haven't yet. :)

Blessings,
Lori

[poetgirl]

Yes, I do enjoy Middle Eastern food from time to time, although I unfortunately dislike eggplant or any dish with eggplant in it. I love a good felafel in pita -- used to get them from vendors on the street when I lived in NYC! Yummy!

I especially love Indian food, although frankly I find it easier to go to my local South Indian vegetarian restaurant than fool with the long list of ingredients required to make basic Indian dishes! I do have a bag of daal lentils that I bought with the intention of making it one day -- just haven't gotten around to it yet. (I've been to India three times, so my standards for what counts as good Indian food is pretty high. Even the best places I've gone to here in the U.S. are just not quite as good.)

[traceann]

Sharon - I am hopping in my truck now!!! Oh I would love to just LOOK at your trivection oven, oh my. That would be heaven!!!! I have seen them in my various home magazines, Better Homes, House Beautiful etc, and I just drool!!!!!! Shoot, I could send Diana BAKED cookies in a flash!!! LOL No plain old dough for her! ;) Oh yes, stay away from the gritty stuff. I still can't believe it. One seemingly innocent ingredient ruined the dinner. Hubby ate it anyway, he said the girt was horrible, but tasted too good to throw away. He thought it was just him (he works in a quarry and comes home all gritty anyway, lol). Nope, sorry dear!!! LOL

Hey Poetgirl, do you do tofu? OMG, that rhymed, lol. I have to say I have never tried the stuff, but in one of my magazines (I just saw it this week) there's an article on it with lots of recipes that have actually made me want to give the stuff a try, lol. ;)

[poetgirl]

Traceann,

Yes, I like tofu, although I haven't tried to cook it very often. I like it when it's pan-fried to a chewy sort of consistency and the outside is golden brown. A lot of Asian restaurants make it this way and it's really yummy. I have had less success trying that at home! If you see any recipes that sound promising, send 'em my way. I need all the protein sources I can get and although I love beans, they kick up my IBS/gas something awful lately. (Which is a real bummer, because I love to make Cuban black beans and rice, as well as the staple of every Puerto Rican diet, Rice and Pigeon Peas!)

[traceann]

You bet! A couple of the recipes looked just that way - crispy and brown and that's what grabbed me. I have heard that it pretty much takes on the flavor of whatever you are cooking it with, so I might as well just suck it up and try the stuff!! LOL And you bet, I will find them (I just saw it the other day!) and ship 'em your way!!!!

MMMM, I love beans but they don't like me much either. I will suffer even with Beano, but sometimes I just don't care, lol. I found a great corn and black-bean salad that I adore, but yeah - combine corn and black beans, ugh!!! :)

[poetgirl]

I think you'd really like tofu prepared the way you saw in the recipes. On its own it doesn't have a lot of flavor, but has more appeal when it's cooked so that it takes on a firmer texture. If I could learn how to cook it like they do in the Asian restaurants, I'd have it all the time! LOL! There's a Thai place nearby that has this dish called "Three Flavors Tofu". The tofu is firm and chewy/crunchy and the sauce resembles a sweet and sour (although not quite as sweet. The flavor is more complex. I really like it and I'm not a big fan of sweet and sour.) It's soooo yummy! :)

I do OK with the pigeon peas because they're small (and lentils too) but the bigger beans, like black or kidney beans, almost always kill my gut. Funny thing is, that is a fairly recent problem. I had eaten beans for years with no real issue, even with the IBS. And yet somehow this year, they started bothering me. What a bummer. :(

[traceann]

I finally found what magazine it was in! LOL It's in my Body & Soul June issue! LOL There's few recipes, one's a Thai-Style Tofu, Spicy Crisp Tofu, Chilled Tofu Japanese-Style and then there's a couple dessert-type things, Fruity Tofu Shakes and Lemony Tofu Cream, done in custard cups! YUM! When I get them entered into the puter, I'll PM them to you if you like!

And in my Body & Soul September issue, there's a great article on lentils and a Lentil Tomato Sauce that sounds pretty darn good too, lol. It says that lentils contain more folate than any other unfortified plant food. It also goes on to say that a 1/2 cup of lentils provide around a third of your daily requirements of fiber, and a quarter of it is soluable. Not to mention they are high in iron as well!!! :) Oh, and I see there is a salad called Lemony Lentil Salad...hmmm, calls for 2 tbsp lemon juice and 3/4 tsp lemon zest, but I bet you could just up the zest and skip the juice, the oil used it olive oil...yum. Sounds like I will typing in some recipes tomorrow!! LOL

It's funny, but beans have always been hard on my system, but not enough to where I won't indulge every now and then, lol. I love love love baked beans, yummy! But it's funny, I could eat beans and have trouble, but no problems with sauerkraut sometimes... go figure!!!! Thank goodness for Beano, I'd hate to imagine the uncomfortable gas I'd have without it!!! Not only would intestines be unhappy, but the bladder would be feeling it to - and anymore that's the only thing (besides pms & period) that remind me it's there!!!! LMAO!!!!

[dg2901]

Just caught up on this thread after missing it the last couple of days.

Sharon, lucky you to have both a trivection and a convection oven! woohoo! I want a convection oven so badly, however my oven works just fine so I cant see tossing it.

Tracey, when you do get yourself that convection/trivection oven you could indeed send me baked cookies! Wait!--why couldnt you do that now??? :hmm: hahaha

Regarding tofu---oy!--thats all I can say. Although there is a good Korean restaurant who somehow manages to make it quite tasty. I, however, have tried it every which way and can never reproduce the flavor and texture of said recipe. Moreso the flavor, its the texture that bothers me.
Funny, I can eat frog legs yet tofu messes with me..ahhaahahaha

Bon appetite y'all!
D

[traceann]

Yeah, yeah yeah, D, I know I know - but the convection/trivection would make it soooo much quicker, lol!!!! ;)

I think a lot of times for me anyway, what can turn me off of something is the texture of it. Hence why I don't think I could ever do oysters, raw or cooked. One, the texture and two - it's a "whole" critter, bleck!!!!

[dg2901]

I love me some oysters! Frieds, steamed, raw with butter and Tabasco..tasty!

Now i want some--along with some cookies to round out the experience! :)

Diana

[traceann]

Hmmm, interesting new combo you got there - would we call them oyster cookies?? Instead of oyster crackers?? :)

[dg2901]

I guess I should have made myself a bit more clear....the cookies would be the ending to my feast, you know, dessert...:biglaugh:
Now i'm about to gag on the "oyster cookies" comment...:help:

Off to forget about the oyster cookies comment...
:hi:
D

[traceann]

Weird, I know I replied to this one... but it's no where to be seen...

[icsonja]

This thread is making my mouth water, I love to cook, it is one of my most rewarding activities, but as w/ most ICers I have to do it when I feel it.
My hubby is Mexican and his mom has taught me to cook true Mexican food and I am pretty good at it, my husband has gained 55 lbs since he married me! I can make a killer salsa/ pico de gallo, and guacamole with home made chips. My kids love my sopapilllas, which they will beg for, and are IC friendly too.
Asado,Mole',Stacked enchiladas, and for fruit lovers a great Mexican fruit salad. Oh yeah homemade tortillas, which I only do when I am feeling really good!
I love Mid-eastern food, my former sister in law was Jordanian and she taught me so many wonderful dishes, I kill for Tabolue (sp) and love stuffed grape leaves, which I finally got my family to try, the kids liked the ones in the tomato sauce and my husband liked the ones steamed in lemon juice.
Oh as for kitchen boo boos I have two.....one was mixing up salt and sugar in my Sonja's giant inside out Cinnamon Rolls...yummy and I gave them as a gift too!!!
The other was while making sauce for enchiladas.....yep I didnt put the lid on the blender....red chili all over my WHITE cabinets,,,they had to be repainted and there is still a spot on my ceiling. What a mess.
But Lori you can FedEX any leftovers to me anytime!!!
Sonja

[Kara Isabel]

Oh Lori dear, how were the pancake syrup battered ribs? LOL I thought of you this last weekend when my DH cooked some more up! HMMM MMMM! Yumm.

He's gonna put some weight on me if he keeps making those. lol

[traceann]

Mmmm, Sonja you made me hungry! And it's only 8:30 in the morning, lol!!! I love making homemade tortillas and hubby loves it when I make pico de gallo - which cracks me up, he hates fresh tomatoes, but will eat them in that! :loco: One of my chef friends laughs at me because I don't like cilantro. I will sub flat leaf parsely (don't really care for that either but it'e remiscent of cilantro to me, lol) instead, that just cracks him right up. I've tried it many many many times, even grew it once and there's just something about it, lol. (again, like the avocado thing with me, lol)

The next herb I want to use in cooking and haven't yet is lavender. I know it's in the French herb mix, but I would like to use what I grow and as it's self. Haven't figured it out yet, what I want to do. I did run across an herbal iced tea that uses lavender for color and some flavor. But, most call for the dried buds, I want to figure out how to use the leaves...I will - it will just take some time....lol.

Oh yes, how were the ribs???

[dg2901]

Tracey,

I'm another one of those people who wont touch a tomato in any form other than pico de gallo. Now cilantro I can eat straight; and the smell is just the most refreshing smell there is! I even have a candle from Yankee Candle scented of pineapple and cilantro--just cant get enough of the aroma..

:)
Diana

[SharonA]

I think Cilantro is one of those love it or hate it things. For me, it is YUCK, YUCK, YUCK.

D and Sonja...When I come a-visting for dinner, please leave it out of the salsa dip. :)

Tracey...I can't wait to have some of your homemade tortillas. What time should Hubby and I be there?

[dg2901]

Sharon,

I've got it noted to leave out the cilantro when you come around--no worries, dear!..:) :bow: :smile tee

:hi:
Diana

[SharonA]

Thank you...What a relief. :lmao:

[traceann]

Oh thank goodness D, Sharon and I can stick by the NON-Cilantro batch, lol. Bleck. I have tried too, I really have tried to give it a chance. Figured it was one of those things I SHOULD like, just like avocadoes, lol. But oh well, at least I tried them. That attitude got me into a pickle once. Was out to dinner and my first fiance knew I was usually game to try anything, and I said, yep I am blah blah blah. Well, the other person with us ordere escargot. UH OH. That is one critter that has NEVER appealed to me (purely an asthetic thing for me), but guess what? Jimmy says "OH!! Tracey will try it - won't you hon?" Um, yeah, sure I will (how the heck did I get into this mess??!!) .... *gulp*. Thank goodness the only thing I noticed was the garlic taste. That I at least liked, lol. But it was all I could taste, whew!!!

LOL, Sharon, I say we make Sonja make them, she's got the authenticity backing her up, lol. ;) I am dying to try them now!!! What'd ya say Sonja? You game?? LOL I think we should meet at D's or something, then head over to Australia for our hang-out there too!!!! Make it a whirlwind tour! :)

Ok, hungry again... great.

[SharonA]

:woohoo: Another road trip!!!! I'm ready!!!!

[dg2901]

Tracey,
So youre saying you dont like escargot either? Theres an Italian restaurant on the waterfront that serves THE BEST escargot there is, i do believe! When you get here I'll be sure to treat you to a meal. You too Sharon! :)

So with saying that, when are y'all scheduled to arrive?
If you can wait til mid/late June, I have tickets to AUS--we can all fly together :)

Going to browse through cookbooks and restaurant reviews..
:hi:
D

[icsonja]

Hey Ya'all how about coming to Texas for a real Tex-Mex Dinner, I'll even cook it.......we can kill a pig and a goat....WHAT?? Do i hear grumblings and plain old "no way"!!!?
Well we have my hubby do the meat stuff and I will make the rest, send your requests..Huevos Ranchero for Breakfast????
We can make a Pinata in the shape of a bladder and whack the heck out of it, fun and a stress relief too. Sorta like Texas therapy!!!!
Dont be turned off by cilantro, it can be great when used properly,most will add in stem parts which gives off that strong taste that turns people off, and it should never be cooked, when I make tortilla soup I add it only at the last minute before serving.......wow that sounds good to me, think I will make that Sunday.Very IC friendly so if anyone wants a good tortilla soup recipe just holler.
I am searching for some good mid-eastern recipes, so if anyone has a good Doulmades (stuffed grape leaves recipe) I need it, I lost mine. Also one for Baclava (sp)
Oh yeah the recipe for the cucumber-yourgurt sauce, which I love but cant seem to get to taste right I am missing something.
But I do have a great herb garden growing and the peppermint is going wild so I can loads of mid-east food if I get the recipes!!!!!SAVE ME FROM THE HERB GARDEN GONE MAD!!!! I have basil to make 20 gallons of pesto right now!!And my family doesnt like pesto:loco:
So nice to talk about something other than you know what...THANKS:smile tee
Sonja

[dg2901]

Sonja,
Cant speak for anyone else, however I'm on my way! I'm game for anything your little heart desires to whip up..:)

Re: baklava--my recipe is very simple. A package of phyllo dough, some simple syrup, some nuts, and voila'! Lay down 2 sheets of phyllo at a time, baste with melted butter; 2 more sheets of phyllo baste with butter and add nuts. Continue til its all used up, making sure that you use 4 sheets of phyllo on the top; bake in 350F oven until golden, pour simple syrup over the top, let cool; cut into triangles.

Now, I'm patiently awaiting your tortilla soup recipe...:)

til then....
:)
diana

[SharonA]

Sonja...Will the pig be buried and slow cooked over hot coals? Yummmmmm!!!!! Don't know about the goat. I don't remember ever having it before, but I'm willing to give it the 'ol Southern try. As long as a Mint Julip is the first coarse. :lmao: After just one, everything tastes good. :dizzy: :lmao:

Tortilla Soup...(fill in blank)





:) :) :)

[dg2901]

I'll bring the salsa--it goes with everything, correct..?! However I will indeed have to make another batch to please those who's palates don't appreciate cilantro.:bow:

Well I was gonna post a pic, however I cant get any of my host sites to upload tonite..grrrrrr...
maybe later when i'm a bit more patient..:)

til then.................
D

Ok, finally got the picture to upload..whew!..

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/dg4832/th_IMG_0502.jpg (http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e178/dg4832/IMG_0502.jpg)

[traceann]

LOL, Ok this will be a whirlwind feasting tour!! WOO HOO!!!! I think I'll go in tomorrow and ask for about 6 months off, lol. ;)

Ah, the cilantro, can't do it, lol. I have used it nine ways to Sunday and I just can't get the taste buds to take to it - I know this is going to sound hilarious (my chef buddy I thought was going pee HIS pants, lol), but it tastes "green" to me, lmao!!!! But hey, I am generally a non-picky eater! Generally.... lmao. NO no no, I do not like escargot D! Bleck! It's the "whole critter" thing that gets me, gag. I will just eat some garlic butter thank you very much! LOL And it's hard to eat the enemies of my herb garden!!!! LOL Way to up close and personal with the slimy troublemakers!!! :) I have to politely decline, lol. Will you guys forgive me? No cilantro and no snails?? ;)

Sonja, all the food sounds lovely! Gosh girls, do you think we like to eat? lmao!!!

Baklava and tzaziki are two of the dishes I decided on when figuring out the "heritage dishes" to perfect. Making baklava for my inlaws this Christmas, not for Jeremy as he does not care for honey at all, lol. Go figure, lmao! I can eat the stuff by the spoonful, and he's not into it at all, lol. The cucumber yogurt sauce was a compilation of a few different recipes, that I kept messing with and messing with to get the right taste. And if you can't find the Greek yogurt, do take the step to "drain" the regular stuff in cheesecloth, I do it overnight in the fridge, gives it the right consistency. Basically mine is yogurt, cukes, lemon juice and garlic (just off the top of my head here, lol). I will have to locate the cookbook my Aunt Stathoula (she's still in Greece) sent my mom many years ago and see if it has a stuffed grape leaves recipe in it, and I think my mom might have one floating around here somewhere, if I find it I will get it to you Sonja!!! And yes, please - tortilla soup recipe if you will share, my hubby will love you!! :smile tee I am jealous of the basil you have as well! Mine just didn't do diddly this year! It was a bad year around here for the basil. Last year was wonderful, this year, nada. Ugh. Not happy about that at all....:rant:

Speaking of heritage dishes, I have some German in me and I married another one (first husband was German and French, lol) when I started dating current hubby, I perfected my Sauerbraten, lol. My chef buddy once again, thought that was the funniest thing, I was married to a person who's loved German food and it wasn't until this one that I decided to make it, lmao. It must be loooooooooooooove....lmao!!!!!

Ok, now that D had to put in a pic of salsa, I am going to go open one of the jars we canned last year with some chips...I've got the munchies!!

And I think the bladder pinata is a FAB idea, what a great way to relieve stress!!!!! :woohoo:

Off to bed, I still have to make it yet! ARGH!

[ICLori]

Oh, I forgot to mention, the ribs turned out great! :)

You know, if someone doesn't like the taste of honey so much, the more traditional version of Baklava actually uses a sugar syrup that is flavored with either rose water or orange blossom water (available on-line or at Middle-Eastern or Indian grocery stores) I personally prefer the traditional syrup to honey, myself, for Baklava.

Blessings,
Lori

P.S. that salsa looks soooo good! Yummy!

[traceann]

Hey Lori! Glad to hear that the ribs were wonderful!! Ok, now I want ribs for breakfast...sounds much better than cereal!! LMAO!!!

The baklava recipe I use is based on the one from my Aunt (the one in Greece) and she uses the honey, but it's actually a combo of syrup, honey and lemon. I have a sneaking suspicion that those sorts of things - baklava etc., vary amongst which "group" and family are making it, lol, as for me, I have never had it not made with honey - isn't that funny? Gosh this thread is fun! I love learning all sorts of different variations and methods etc!!! ;) I certainly hope we keep it going, this is my favorite!! Great, now I want baklava and ribs. What a combo!!! LOL Mmmmm and ouzo would go quite lovely with it all...lmao!!!

What else we got cooking gang???

[poetgirl]

Can y'all wait until I'm in my second trimester and the idea of food isn't quite so gross? LOL! :lmao:

My grandmother used to make awesome empanadas. I need to learn how to make those, so I can have them with arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas.) Sigh...some of the best food I've ever had in my life was in Puerto Rico. I had this fish stew made with cod (and I don't even like cod all that much) that was unbelievable. And the flan was to die for. I have the essential tome on Puerto Rican cooking, which I bought when I was there, and which exists in every PR kitchen I've been in but the recipes are all portioned for 8-10 people and many call for lard or fatback! I've only made a few, but will need to experiment with more when I've got the time (and the stomach!)

[traceann]

LOL Poetgirl! I do hope the ickies pass quickly for you, no fun to talk about food when you aren't having the best relationship with it eh? LMAO! ;)

Mmmm, now I want flan and then some creme brulee`! Ugh, I have got the cravings for sweet things! I need to break that - I have set this Saturday, Sept 2 as my "Quit Date" for smoking. I have been cutting back drastically, hubby has already quit...now it's just me to do it next... Keep your fingers crossed for me!!! And keep the food out of my reach! LMAO!!!

[poetgirl]

Good luck quitting smoking! I know you can do it (and think of how much happier your bladder will be for it!) :bunny:

I don't know firsthand how difficult it can be to quit smoking but I'm wondering if you keep some crunchy but healthy snacks on hand (baby carrots, celery, pretzels, apple slices) when you feel the urge, maybe that will help curb some of the physical need to keep your mouth and hands busy.

************
For those here who like Mexican food, there is a good article in this month's cooking light on how to make carnitas. Yum!

[SharonA]

Tracey...I hope you join the non-smoking club very soon. Just remember to not sub the cigs with food. Well, at least all this great stuff we have being talking about lately. What I did was use toothpicks and straws. When I needed something in my mouth, I used the toothpicks. When I needed to take a draw, I used straws. When I needed something to do with my hands, I played with a straw. That worked really good for me. It has been since the end of May, 1991 (Memorial Day Weekend) that I smoked my last cig after having smoked a pack a day for 20 years. I did stop "cold turkey". So did my Hubby. It was a very interesting weekend at our house. :loco: :rant: :bonk:

Also...When you feel the urge, practice deep breathing until the urge passes. And it will pass. This time next year, we can all celebrate you being a non-smoker for 1 year without having gained a bunch of weight. :woohoo: Pass that bowl of Flan this way!!!!!! And don't forget the Baklava!!!!! Oh, did I forget to say please. Oh yes, it would please me immensely. :lmao:

[traceann]

Thanks girls for the encouragement, it's nice to hear when you start the "OMG can I do this?" thoughts. Which are stupid for me - I had quit back in Nov of 2002 and made it all the way to early 2004 I believe, and with the divorce going on etc, I started up again. I should NEVER have bought that pack of cigarettes. I can STILL remember the day. Ugh. So, I know in my heart I can do it - I did it before and nothing bad happened to me, lol. (there's that crazy little fear that comes with the thought of quitting - fear of what I don't know, but it's there...lol) I did gain about 8-9 pounds the last time, I used DumDum suckers as my substitute then. But, with some hard work and exercise I lost it all. This time around I have my Curves plan already in place, and remember the pitfalls from the last time... And I told the girl at my local store where I buy them, she says she won't sell me any after the 2nd, lol.

You are so right Sharon - which by the way I bow down :bow: to the cold turkey bit, holy moly - the craving will pass. They say if you just wait 5 min, it will go away. I picked Labor Day weekend to make it memorable, lol. If you can do it cold turkey, I know I can do it! (I take Wellbutrin, and it's the stuff they use as "Zyban", lol) And I have started my diversion tactics again - immediately getting up after dinner to clear dishes, etc instead of smoking. Funny how a "quitting smoking" topic is perfectly at home in the cooking thread! LMAO!!!! And yep, poetgirl, I plan on only fruits and veggies around,which is a good thing I love those things better than junkfood! Whew! Now I gotta remember not to kick the cat, not beat the husband or is it beat the husband and not kick the cat...or beat AND kick the husband and pet the cat?...lol.... And besides, I have that new mattress to pay for, this should help!!! :lmao: :bonk: :bonk:

So, what you all got going for dinner today? I am taking the easy route, some kind of pasta I think or, I did take a gyro kit out of the freezer so I have options...lol

I used to have a sub to Cooking Light years ago, hmmm, may have to get one again, lol. Loved it!

Has anyone made flan before? I watched Alton Brown make it yesterday, and it doesn't seem to difficult to do... But it sure is yummy.... I can see this quitting thing is definitely going to spark my cooking thing up again, it's more of a hobby for me, lol. I love to just cook the stuff, not necessarily eat the stuff - that's how my baking is anyway. I am not really big on that sort of stuff, but hubby loves it and I love to make it, works out perfect!!! :loco:

[dg2901]

Tracey,
Good luck with the quitting plan! I wish my husband would quit--I cannot stand it!!! I guess though I'm a bit hypocritical 'cause I do enjoy a cigar every now and then. However its not a daily habit that I cant shake. So, when you do quit make sure you share your coping skills so that I may pass them along to my husband.

Now, with the flan. its quite simple actually. My son made it for a project when he was in 8th grade so I know you can do it. :)

Adios muchachas (is that how ya spell it?)
diana

[SharonA]

To me, the worst part of anything custardy (like Flan) is the hot water bath you have to use. I have yet to figure out how to do that and not scald myself when I take it out of the oven. I love Flan (one of my absolute favs) but don't make it because of this problem. Anyone have some helpful hints for me?

I was looking around the Crockpot Site just a while ago. (I'm sorry, I can't remember who it was here who recommended this site). I think I saw a Flan recipe using Splenda for the caramel topping. Hang on a minute and I will check it out.

Yep, I remembered right. Go to http://crockpot.allrecipes.com
Find Recipes Fast
looking for: type in Almond Coconut Flan
search in: scroll down to Splendasweetner
Click on Go
Click on Almond Coconut Flan

:woohoo: Splenda Flan. Now I will wait for one of you to tell me how to keep from scalding myself.

Just saw that it was ShePurzz who posted about the Crockpot Site.

[traceann]

Oh very cool Sharon, thanks for the directions to it! I am very intrigued... I keep meaning to hit the Splenda site looking for more recipes using it, and haven't done it yet, lol.

I love the Allrecipes site. It's so funny, when I first got online - omg, so many years ago, I can't remember now. It was just "cookierecipes.com" that's IT. It has grown soooo much, it's amazing!!! I just went to see when I became a member of it, and it only shows the date from when it started expanding I think, as I know for a fact I have been a member longer than since 2000, lol. Yikes, scary. I wish I could remember when I got my first computer for home...grrrr

Hmmm, I have seen that you fill the pan once it's on the the oven rack, that way you don't have to carry it over to the oven with hot water in it, lol. And I am thinking maybe some of those new silicone oven mitts - you have grip AND protection from hot stuff. Remove them from the pan without taking it off the oven rack, let it cool then remove it. That's all I can think of... and geesh, I still want flan... I should just do it! Maybe on the long weekend I'll give it a shot or next week when hubby's on 2nd shift and I have the kitchen to myself...lol... Oh shoot, I have to figure out a way to get them out myself as I don't have any silicone mitts. Want to get some though...hmmm - perfect excuse for a purchase I think... ;)

AH HA!!! :) I just decided to read their "about us" story, and it was in 1997that cookierecipe.com started! So, it was in 1997 when I first hopped on with them - yikes I have been online for 9 years???? Hard to believe!:dizzy:

[icsonja]

HI all thanks for the recipes and ideas!! I too love this thread, gee I just knew we were "normal" under all our IC stuff lol!!

TOTRILLA SOUP or Caldo de Tortilla
(will put the quick and the long both in)

2 quarts of chicken stock (homemade, thats the long part) or store bought
2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken (same as above)
4- corn tortillas cut in small strips and fried in oil till crisp (or bake)
2 Roma tomatos (optional) diced
I ripe avacado diced
1 cup Mozzeralla cheese shredded
salt, pepper, garlic to taste
cilantro or parsley for garnish

Heat stock to boil
add chicken cook 10 min
turn off heat
add tomato
season
to serve
use large bowl put 1/8- 1/4 cup mozerella in bottom of bowl
add several peices of avacado
ladle on soup
top with tortillia strips and cilantro

VERY SIMPLE TO DO and you can add any veggie you like

Bueno Comida!
Sonja

[SharonA]

OOOOOOOOh that sounds so good. Can't wait until it gets cold enough to make soup. Hubby will love this one. :woohoo:

[traceann]

Thanks Sonja! I am cutting and pasting now!!!! Yeah, I think my hubby will love it as well!!! ;)

[Rosalie]

I am always on the lookout for good vegetarian recipes. My daughter went veggie earlier this year and since then I am finding it difficult to come up with meals that can accommodate us all.
Just dishing out the vegetables from the meat meal isn't enough. So I tend more towards a vegetarian meal for us all. But this isn't always satisfactory.
Does anyone have any ideas or a favourite veggie meal that can accommodate us meat eaters?

[traceann]

Hmmm, you must have stumped us all Ro! LOL It's been awhile since everyone's chimed in! For me it was the 3 day holiday weekend that got me behind! (but in a good way, a 3 day weekend is always good!)

I would say anything with beans/legumes etc. They are excellent sources of protein, low fat and great fiber sources too!!! Oh my, I sound like a dang bean commercial! LOL But that was the first thing to pop into my head that usually everyone likes, etc. How about a vegetarian chili etc - just lots of beans and no meat.

[icsonja]

Rosalie ,I would reccomend checking out of the local library or looking on the net for some Indian cookbooks, due to their religious beliefs they eat vegaterian alot, and it is very good. Many years ago,when I was a teen (many, many ,many) years ago I too went veggie, but when I became pregnant at 22 I had to get more protien, so I eat meat now, but very small portions. Ans I find Indian food and Japenese food and Chinese food has excellent choices for meatless meals.
Of course I married a carnavoire and had 3 little carnivoires, so I am out numbered!!!
But I have to say spinach lasagne is my favorite veggie meal, and if you are tomato sensitive like me I use a cream sauce instead of marinara, it is easily adaptable.And for sensitive IBS tummies it doesnt require aged cheese. Riccotta and Mozerella or Asedero is great in it and adds so much protein and calcium.
Sonja

[traceann]

Hmmmm, ladies are we all full? Seems like it's been quiet around here...lol!!!